NEWS BULLETIN
March 2010
National Institute of Open Schooling
NIOS Celebrates International Women’s Day
On the historic day that marked the 100th anniversary
of International Women's Day Celebrations, the
National Institute of Open Schooling organized the
following programmes :
i)
Gender Sensitization Workshop to dispel the
misconceptions associated with gender. Dr. S.S
Jena, Chairman, NIOS presided over the
programme. Welcoming the officials and guests,
Dr. Anita Priyadarshini, Director (Academics)
highlighted the issues and concerns of women
and elaborated on the need of hosting such an
event at NIOS.
Workshop Participants Taking a Pledge
topics like jobs of women and men, world without men
and women, role plays etc. The workshop proceeded
with a discussion on the differences between gender
and sex.
Dr. Jena in his address emphasized that women
competed with men in all fields of work. He believed
that even if women are not working, they are
contributing to the economic development of the
country by supporting men. Dr. Jena on this occasion
released the poster and badges specially designed
for International Women's Day.
The programme ended with a pledge by the
participants to accord their colleagues and learners,
dignity, respect and equality, to take out time to listen
to their collegues and acknowledge that the
perspectives of colleagues are valuable and as
important as their own and to never commit, condone
or remain silent about gender discrimination, sexual
assault or domestic violence.
The participants appreciated the workshop and felt
that it was a great learning experience. It was
recommended that more such workshops should be
organized for officials of NIOS. The programme
concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. Asheema
Singh of Academic Department.
ii) A Talk on Sexual Harassment at Workplace
Gender Sensitization Workshop in Progress
The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Sudha Sood,
Director (HELP) with an objective to understand and
analyze perception of self and also analyze the
perceptions that men and women have about each
other and to identify the different stereotypes
associated with men and women and analyze how
these affect them.
A Talk and Open Forum Discussion on Sexual
Harassment at Workplace was also organised on this
occassion. Dr. S.S Jena, Chairman, NIOS presided
over the programme. Welcoming the officials and
guests, Dr. Anita Priyadarshini, Director (Academics)
highlighted the issue of the evil of sexual harassment
that a working woman may be exposed to at her
workplace. The Talk was conducted by Mr. Madhav
Khurana, Advocate, Supreme Court.
Bringing together Officers from different departments,
the participatory exercises included brainstorming on
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National Institute of Open Schooling
proposed by Dr. Anita Priyadarshini, Director
(Academic).
Development of TMA for the Session
2010- 2011
Meetings to develop the Tutor Marked Assignments
(TMAs) for the session 2010-2011 at Secondary and
Senior Secondary level were conducted. TMA in the
subjects of Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Persian,
Arabic, Math, Science, Social Sciences, Home
Science Economics, Indian Culture and Heritage and
Painting at Secondary level and in the subjects of
Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, Maths, Physics,
Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, Political
Science, Economics, Sociology, Home Science,
Accountancy, Business Studies, Computer Science,
Psychology and Mass Communication at Senior
Secondary level were developed.
Marking the Occassion: Release of Poster by Dr. S.S. Jena
In his address, Dr. S.S. Jena, Chairman, NIOS said
that the NIOS is committed to provide a safe working
environment to all its women officials. He also
released a poster to mark the occassion.
Translation work of TMA in Urdu Medium in the
subjects of Maths, Science & Technology and
Painting at Secondary level and in the subjects of
Maths, Biology, History, Geography, Chemistry, and
Sociology was also undertaken and completed.
Mr. Madhav Khurana began the talk on Sexual
Harassment at the Workplace by explaining the legal
definition of sexual harassment under the IPC. He
elucidated various behaviours, gestures, comments
and actions that fall within the domain of sexual
harassment and explained how an action could be
taken against this offence within an official
environment.
NIOS AVI Coordinators Meet at Regional
Centre, Allahabad
A one day meeting of AVI Coordinators of Regional
Centre, NIOS, Allahabad was held at Hotel Milan
Palace, Civil Lines, Allahabad on 6th March, 2010. A
total number of 40 Coordinators attended the meeting.
For a giant governmental organization like NIOS, he
focused on the formation of Complaint Committees.
Such a Committee under the Indian Law is to be
headed by a Woman with half of its members being
female. For transparency, a third party, preferably
an NGO associated with cases against sexual
exploitation can be involved. He also maintained that
this committee should work on the principles of
Natural Justice and Cross examination.
The meeting was addressed by Sh. Suvendu Sekhar
Das, Regional Director, NIOS, Allahabad. Sh. Das
highlighted the role of NIOS in imparting Vocational
Education to the un-reached. He also emphasized
the current status of enrolment in different trades of
Vocational Courses, its challenges, the role of AVI
Coordinators to overcome challenges and thereby
improving the system and future vision.
The talk was well moderated by Ms. Shreya Jani,
Peace Education Consultant, who maintained that
when women come up and asks for their rights, they
demand for equality and do not believe in seizing the
rights of their male counterparts. Thus, a change in
the mindset is the call of the hour. All the participants
took an active part in the open discussion and
together , came up with various ways of creating a
safe environment for all at the workplace. Many
queries related to the issues and laws were
responded to by both, Mr. Khurana and Ms. Jani. The
talk concluded with recommendations such as an
arrangement for an in-house counselor, organizing
supplementary talks and workshops to create
awareness etc. The programme was organized by
Ms. Asheema Singh and a vote of thanks was
Prof. Rajiv Ranjan Tewari addressing the AVI Co-ordinators
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National Institute of Open Schooling
application for re-evaluation should be sent by
registered post/speed post only to the concerned
Regional Centre.
The chief guest, Professor Rajiv Ranjan Tewari,
Department of Electronics and Communication,
University of Allahabad, spoke about the education
scenario in the country, especially in the context of
Vocational Education and its role in skill development
and entrepreneurship.
The processing fee for re-evaluation is Rs. 500/- per
subject to be submitted through bank draft drawn in
favour of Secretary, NIOS payable at the city of the
concerned Regional Centre.
The following themes were given to all Coordinators
for deliberation and to arrive at suitable measures /
remedies and recommendations.
Candidates must apply for re-evaluation in their own
handwriting within 15 days from the date of declaration
of results on the NIOS website www.nios.ac.in.
Incomplete applications and those received after the
due date will not be entertained and will summarily
be rejected without any notice.
Theme 1) Strategy to increase enrolment in
Vocational Education Programmes.
Theme 2) Market demands for need-based
Vocational Courses.
The communication regarding the re-evaluation result
shall be sent to the candidate within a period of 60
days from the date of receipt of application. It will also
be posted on the NIOS website.
Theme 3) Market employability
Theme 4) Acceptability, recognition in employment
exchange etc.
Some of the major recommendations which emerged
included the collaboration with Industries; association
of atleast one industry representative in Vocational
curriculum committee; development of new courses
like Fashion Technology, Retail Management etc.;
up gradation of certificate course to Diploma course
(CCA, Jan Swasthya),; revision of curriculum in
different trades (e.g. Electrical Technicians etc) and
to upgrade the course contents accordingly at par
with course contents of I.T.I.and other Technical
Bodies / Boards,; advertisements for Vocational
admission and examination in regional dailies atleast
four times in a year and a letter from the M.H.R.D. to
each Employment Exchange regarding recognition
and acceptance of Vocational Courses.
Session on the use of Web resources for
effective communication
The NIOS in collaboration with Intel organized a two
hour session during the Regional Directors' meet for
utilizing the Web resources for better and effective
communication. The session focused on the use of
ICT tools in making internal communications more
effective. Showcasing of few samples created by
teachers using web 2.0 tools such as wiki and blogs
gave innovative ideas to use online resources with
the students. A demo on using Skype Application was
allied with the specific needs of NIOS officials in their
day-to-day routine. A complete live demo on using
text and voice chat, video chat along with file and
desktop sharing modalities was appreciated.
Re-evaluation of Answer Scripts Introduced
by NIOS
The National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) has
introduced the re-evaluation of answer scripts at the
Senior Secondary level from April-May 2010
examination. This will be in addition to the already
existing system of scrutiny/re-totalling of marks for
Secondary and Senior Secondary levels.
Candidates who will appear for the Senior Secondary
examination of NIOS in April-May 2010 can apply for
re-evaluation of answer scripts in theory paper of any
subject. There is no provision for re-evaluation in
Practical papers.
Candidates can apply for re-evaluation for one or
more subjects through a single application. No second
request for re-evaluation will be entertained. The
Effective use of Web Resources: Session in Progress
The
NIOS
online
Community
(http://
rdonlinecommunity.blogspot.com) was also
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National Institute of Open Schooling
showcased and utility of such online communities in
distance learning environment as that of NIOS was
discussed.
Tenth Academic Council Meeting
The 10th meeting of the Academic Council of NIOS
was held on 17th March, 2010 at the NIOS
headquarters under the chairmanship of Dr. S.S.
Jena, Chairman, NIOS.
The meeting began with the confirmation of the
minutes of the 9th Academic Council Meeting. New
Projects/Programmes of the Academic Department
such as the initiation of project for capacity building
of PTTI trainers of West Bengal, Collaborative
programmes between NIOS and Sakshar Bharat
(National Literacy Mission) and collaboration between
Testiary and Furthering Education in New South
Wales (TAFE-NSW) through Open Training and
Education Networking (OTEN), Australia and NIOS
were taken up for consideration.
Introduction of new courses/projects such as IT
Essentials: PC Hardware and Software in
collaboration with CISCO, Open Educational
Resources (OER) and E-learning concept in
Vocational Education were also reported in the
meeting.
The activities of other departments/units pertaining
to Academic issues were also reported/considered.
The observations and suggestions made by the
members of the Academic Council were recorded.
The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the
Chairman and the members of the Academic Council.
New Face of NIOS Website (www.nios.ac.in)
In a drive to make its website more user friendly in
terms of Accessibility and usability, the NIOS has
redesigned its Home page by adding search facility
as well as News and Events Section. Moreover
different information has been categorized under
related links such as 'About Us' consisting of the
Profile, Mission and Vision and Objectives of NIOS.
Apart from this, there is information about the different
committees of NIOS, NIOS Publications and
information about COMOSA. Information about the
different Departments and Units and its activities have
been included under the 'Department' Section. A
complete list of NIOS Officials along with their
designations and contact numbers has also been
A new look for the NIOS website
given. One can also access the complete list of the
NIOS study Centres, State wise and District wise
(Academic, Vocational and OBE Study Centres). In
addition, a new link 'Download Section' has also been
introduced apart from the other links like Statistical
Reoprt, AEP, RTI etc.
Success Story
Name
: Ms. Sudha
Enrolment No. : 27029182593
Ms. Sudha was a only housewife until
such time that her husband passed
away and she was offered the job of
a constable in the Delhi Police. She
then took up the job to support the family consisting
of her two children.
Sudha who had not completed her schooling was
motivated by her children to join the NIOS. She then
passed the Secondary examination from NIOS in
April 2009. A resident of Sant Nagar, Burari, Delhi
and posted at the Rohini Court, Delhi, Sudha today
feels more confident and empowered by the
qualification acquired by her.
Editorial Board
S.S. Jena, Chairman, NIOS
Gowri Diwaker, PRO
Gopa Biswas, Dy. Director
Bhawna Dhyani, Dy. Director
Koushalya Barik, Assistant
Director
• Anitha Nair, Assistant Director
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National Institute of Open Schooling
A-24-25, Institutional Area, Sector-62, NOIDA, UP
Website : www.nios.ac.in
Toll Free No. 18001809393
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